Join the Peace Corps Brochure

Where we live influences how we live, yet we are all interconnected.By Rebecca Cook, Laurie Zatkowsky

and Steve Alnwick

Join the Peace Corps?

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy established the Peace Corps to promote world peace and friendship. 

Three simple goals comprise the Peace Corps mission

1. Helping people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.

2. Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.

3. Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of all Americans.

The Essential Questions

Why is it important for teens to learn about other cultures?How might we live differently if we had been born in a different country?How are people connecting to help those in need through volunteer service?What do you think it would be like to be a Peace Corps Volunteer?

Through the Student’s Lens:The Assignment -9th grade social studies

Go to the Peace Corps home page website.http://www.peacecorps.gov/ Explore. You have been asked to design a promotional brochure for the Peace Corps, describing and illustrating volunteer opportunities in three different countries.What challenges do these countries face and how is the Peace Corps assisting? Your brochure should include cultural, geographic and economic considerations.In power-point, develop pages that summarize Peace Corps goals in four different countries. Use digital enhancement techniques to make your brochure more visually interesting.Create an in-depth presentation on one country in which you would like to work. What are the major challenges facing this country?

Your job is to learn all you can about the country of your choice, for example:

The Dominican Republic And Hurricanes

From the CIA World Factbook at http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/

From the National Hurricane Center at: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/index.shtml

So that you can be interviewed by an international television network as a Dominican Republic resident.You will be asked:

Describe life in the Dominican Republic before and after Hurricane GeorgesHow Georges impact your life and the life of your family and communityHow did people, including the international community, work together to deal with the disasterSome say that Georges united people from different cultures and countries in a common bond of humanity. Do you agree or disagree?

California State Standards

Focus: 9th grade Social Studies- World Regional Geography, Area Studies- Culture and Sociology.Language Arts- 2.4 Synthesize the content from several sources or works by a single author dealing with a single issue; paraphrase the ideas and connect them to other sources and related topics to demonstrate comprehensionVisual Arts- 9th through 12th grade 2.0 Creative Expression- Develop and refine skill in manipulation of digital imagery.Math- review of 7th grade 1.3 Understand the meaning of and be able to compute the minimum, the lower quartile, the median, the upper quartile and the maximum of a data set.Science – 9th Grade Earth Science #4,5,6 - Energy in the Earth’s System – Heating of the Earth’s surface, ocean currents and climate.NETS: 9th through 12th grade #7- Routinely and efficiently use online information and resources to meet the needs for collaboration, research, publications, communications and productivity.

Join the Peace Corps!

Where we live influences how we live, yet we are all interconnected.

Volunteers in Guatemala are working with family farmers to diversify agricultural production, encourage vegetable garden cultivation; increase the productivity of "backyard livestock"; and, improve marketing skills, post-harvest techniques, and food preparation.

Guatemala

Population: 13,909,384 (July 2003 est.)

The median age total: 18.3 years male: 18.1 years

female: 18.5 years (2002)

The major target populations of Health Volunteers tend to be local community members, especially youth, women, children, and health system service providers.

East Timor

Population: 997,853 (July 2003 est.) Median age: total: 19.7 years male: 19.8 years

female: 19.6 years (2002)

The majority of rural people survive by subsistence agriculture supplemented with low cash income from coffee and some rice and vegetable production.

East Timor

Samoa

As part of a coastal management curriculum, volunteers teach environmental studies and marine biology. They assist in developing marine protected areas.

Population: 178,173 (July 2003 est.) Median age: total: 23.7 years male: 26.3 years female: 20.2 years (2002)

Volunteers in the Dominican Republic strive to increase local abilities for problem solving. They form linkages among and across grassroots, regional and national organizations.

Dominican Republic

The Peace Corps is helping local communities prepare for

natural disasters such as hurricanes.

Population: 8,715,602 (July 2003 est.) Median age: total: 23.5 years male: 23.3 years female: 23.7 years (2002)

You are going to the Dominican Republic for an in depth look at culture, economics and geography.

The Dominican Republic has beautiful people, scenic beaches, colorful cities and lots of flowers.

The Demographics

The Total Population: 8,715,602 (July 2003 est.)

Age structure (Average Age): 0-14 years: 33.6% (male 1,497,777; female 1,431,104) 15-64 years: 61.2% (male 2,719,505; female 2,614,495) 65 years and over: 5.2% (male 212,045; female 240,676) (2003 est.)

Median age: total: 23.5 years male: 23.3 years female: 23.7 years (2002)

Population growth rate: 1.36% (2003 est.)

At this growth rate, what will the population be in 2013?

But it also has Hurricanes!

Total Destruction – the effects.Deaths and insured damage estimates associated with Hurricane Georges.

Country Deaths ($ Billions)

Dominican Republic 380 >1.0

United States Total 1 2.955

The world community comes together.

“Before the hurricane all the children of the community were always sick and unhealthy. Thanks to your help our children are now healthier and we are better prepared to deal with future hurricanes.”

-Pastor Olga Duran Ortega

“Before the hurricane, we waited hours and hours for a bucket of water. Our lives have changed. Before the hurricane, the children used to drink contaminated water and have diarrhea. They now drink the water and they are safe. We now chlorinate the water.”- Domingo Felician, President of the Community Water Committee

Before Georges

After Georges…